Science Showoff promises “open mic for all communicators of science” and aims to be a place where people from all the bits of the science communication industry could share their latest work, in a performance-based way, and then chew it over with a pint in hand (or a whisky in hand). We also wanted it…
singingbanana code challenge
James Grime, of the Enigma project and guest editor of the February 2012 code month at Nrich, has posted a code breaking challenge on his YouTube channel singingbanana. The prize is a signed copy of Simon Singh’s The Code Book. You can get the ciphertext to decrypt along with a couple of clues presented with…
Three new Mathematics Matters case studies
Three new case studies have been posted to the IMA’s Mathematics Matters series. This aims to address the following problem: The industry and technology that surrounds us owes a great debt to modern mathematics research, yet this fact is perfectly hidden in its physical manifestation. The concern with this state of affairs is that what…
Alan Turing Pardon: Early Day Motion
John Leech MP, on his blog, reports having submitted an Early Day Motion (EDM) to Parliament calling for a pardon for Alan Turing. The Parliament website defines EDMs: Early day motions (EDMs) are tabled by MPs to publicise a particular event or cause, and to gather support among MPs for that event or cause. MPs…
A dozen stats tips for journalists
A post on the website of the getstats campaign offers a dozen tips for journalists, who “increasingly have to have at least minimal competence in understanding stats and data, if they are going to do a creditable job”. From a warning to think about the motivation of whoever “cooked up” the number in a press…
2012 BSA Media Fellows – call for applications
In Math/Maths 78: Researchers and the Media Special we spoke to Nathan Green, a researcher who had done a Media Fellowship with the British Science Association. These aim to bridge the communication gap between scientists and journalists and give space for a dialogue between the two. They reflect the British Science Association’s commitment to increasing…
Puzzle from Maths Jam Nottingham: Kathryn’s cube of cheese
At Maths Jam Nottingham January 2012, Kathryn brought this puzzle. Kathryn has a cube made of cheese. Her question is simple: What is the smallest number of tetrahedra (not necessarily regular) that you can cut the cube into, leaving no cheese left over? If you think you’ve solved this, see the solution page below for…